Tuesday, November 25, 2014

All The Saints (part 5)

One can feel the warmth of the bright
shining light of this entrenched interest when sitting alongside the gathered
Colossian congregation, joining together in their customary meal gathering in
honor of their Lord as the letter from the Apostle is read aloud and hearing
“We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we
pray for you, since we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that
you have for all the saints” (Colossians 1:3-4). With the background
provided, one should not skim quickly over this “all.” It should be heard
with all of the world-altering potential contained therein.

After a quick bit of praise from
Paul, while making mention of the Gospel that he says “has come to you” (1:6a),
he adds an “all” emphasis with “Just as in the entire world this Gospel is
bearing fruit and growing” (1:6b). As with the “all” of verse four, one
must not take lightly this talk of the “entire world,” given the backdrop of
the exclusiveness that limited entrance upon the covenant. Contrary to
this, and contrary to his former way of life, Paul’s words, along with the
sentiments expressed by Peter (as recorded in Acts), represent the realization
of the flinging open of the doors of the Creator God’s covenant to all
people---the entire world.

It is in this mindset that one
then goes on to hear the words of verse twelve, where Paul writes of their
“giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the saints’
inheritance in the light” (1:12). This qualification speaks to the issue
of inclusion. Prior to Jesus, and prior to the announcement of His Gospel
(acknowledging Him as Lord of all) as the means (identification) by which one
enters into the covenant (is justified), it was the works of the law (the
accepted covenant markers and practices that identified and separated the
people of Israel from all other people) that provided qualification to be a
“saint” and to share in the promised inheritance that stretched all the way
back to Abraham. To that, reinforcing the “all,” “entire world,” and “qualified”
language, Paul adds “He delivered us,” a word of unity, “from the power of
darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have
redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (1:13-14).

“Redemption” is a loaded term with
a strong history, rooted in the history of Israel and firmly connected to the
exodus, which was an incredibly important component of the story by which
Israel identified itself. Redemption is, in effect, exodus.
Throughout the Scriptures, the symbol of the Creator God’s redemption of His
people was their exoduses, which were many. Exodus, be it exodus from
Egypt or exodus from Babylon (or from any other oppressor, whether inside or
outside of the land of promise), was crucial to the story of Israel, and was a
unifying theme for a people that took an “us against the world” stance.

Redemption, or exodus, which
implied a deliverance from exile (which was the result of Israel’s “sins”), was
by and large (it’s not really the case for the Egyptian exodus) the evidence
that Israel had been forgiven of its sins of covenant violations.
Therefore, Paul’s use of this language, as it is encompasses both Jew and
Gentile, draws the Gentiles into the story of his God’s redemptive actions on
behalf of Israel and the world through Israel, providing them with an exodus of
their own, thus folding them into the people of Israel’s God.